Thursday, July 18, 2013

Should The CIA Be Helping Hezbollah?

An amateur photographer caught this image minutes after the bombing in the Bir el-Abed neighborhood, a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs, July 9, 2013. (photo by Ali Hashem)

Should The CIA Be Sharing Intelligence That Could Help Hezbollah? -- J. Dana Stuster, Passport/Foreign Policy

The enemy of the CIA's enemy in Lebanon is still its enemy. But, according to a report for McClatchy by FP contributor Mitchell Prothero, when the CIA discovered that al Qaeda-affiliated rebel groups in Syria were plotting attacks against Hezbollah's strongholds in Lebanon, they shared that intelligence with the Lebanese government -- "with the understanding that it would be passed to Hezbollah." (A U.S. official speaking to FP disputed the notion that the CIA would provide intelligence to a terrorist organization.)

Lebanese officials and a security contractor said the intelligence had included phone calls monitored by U.S. intelligence between militants in Lebanon and the Gulf. "America might hate the NSA right now, but they were able to actually hear the calls and warn us what was said," a Lebanese official told Prothero.

Read more ....

Previous Post: CIA Tips Off Hezbollah About Al Qaeda Bombing Plot

My Comment: As I had mentioned before .... I wonder if there was a 'guid-pro-quo" for this intelligence. I am betting that there was.

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